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Full Length The Last Airbender Trailer Pushes Air

While Andy’s convinced The Last Airbender will suck, I’m not so sure. Nothing I’ve seen so far has turned me off — opposite, even. Elements battling elements, dudes being thrown to oblivion, world creation and a kid’s skull lighting up like a Tron car. Despite its inherent kid focus (it’s based on a Nickelodeon cartoon after all)… I think it looks cool and will be, at worst, mildly entertaining.

Earlier trailers have focused on the high-flying gee-whizery of the movie, but the latest focuses a little more on story– and I kinda like the direction. Sure, it’s your standard journey of a hero, but I like the Fifth Element-esque idea of a super powerful kid who’s all alone and emotionally vulnerable– in need of a “family” or connection for safe harbor. There’s a fine line there between cheesy and resonant, but judging by this trailer at least, it’s hopefully steering closer to resonant.

Recent story missteps and name poison aside, M. Night Shyamalan remains a skilled, if now finally humbled, filmmaker. I’m willing to give him all kinds of benefit of the doubt on The Last Airbender, namely because this world/universe isn’t his material, so the twist gimmick is probably out on this one.

8 comments
On Full Length The Last Airbender Trailer Pushes Air

You have said it well! Coming from a great story (by someone else), but paired with Shayamalan’s keen sense of the visual hook, and ILM’s outstanding skills at creating cutting edge visuals, this could be the surprise hit of the Summer.

FYI.. In 2005, Mike DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko created Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender. The show became a huge success and went on for three seasons.

The show is advertised by Nickelodeon as “set in a fantastical Asian world” and is described by the writers themselves as taking place in “an ancient, fantastical Asian environment, primarily Chinese.”

I for one am not going to watch this film (theaters, bluray, rental, cable, tv) and will be encouraging friends and family to do the same across the globe. I’m tired of Hollywood white washing. White is good. Black is evil. That’s just wrong.

I’m seriously sick and tired of listening to this same song and dance about the lead characters not being asian. If they really didn’t want Ang to be portrayed by a white actor in the live action movie they should of never made him look like a total white kid in the cartoon series with white skin and big round blue eyes.

It’s funny that you go straight for Aang. The more obvious gripe would be they took a whole race of people that was dark skinned, the Waterbenders, and white washed Them. That’s the thing that bothers me. Everyone else was light anyway, so I’m not surprised by their casting. But Sokka and Katara along with all the water tribesmen were clearly dark skinned.

I always thought it was particularly refreshing that the show portrayed a cute love between youth of different races without making anything of it. The fact that Hollywood deemed it necessary to completely homogenize everyone does detract from the spirit of it. That they made the choice to do that puts a dark mark on what is shaping up to be, I think, a really good movie.

Think about that. They took an entire race of people that was dark, and made them white. I would really be interested in knowing the reason behind that decision.

@ Jo-Jo- Thanks- I’m interested to see how this one actually plays out.

@ Aznman: I appreciate where you’re coming from in asking for a movie with so many Asian influences to at least feature a few Asians. Still, the cast of The Last Airbender is anything but white washed and, geographically speaking, Asia includes Turkey, India, Israel and Russia. That and the movie is “fantastical” which leaves all kinds of room for interpretation.

Not really Dan. the nations were heavily influenced by Japan, China, and the Inuit clan and sometimes Mongolia. (even the title is written in some type of chinese/japanese symbols. And mainly around the ocean of southeast asia rather than farther inland. there really isn’t any Turkey, Israel or Russian influences in the show. And they were pretty much drawn as asian. There are buddhist influences, but they seem more tibetan than indian.

And no one is really complaining about the indian kid in the movie anyway. It’s the other casting which is jarring. Especially when you see Jackson Rathbone with his asian family.

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